This invention relates in general to load-supporting pallets and, more particularly to a pallet that may be used on a disposable or one-trip basis.
The typical wooden pallet consists of several runners to which boards are nailed to provide a deck on which the load is supported. Of course, the runners elevate the deck and load from the floor or other supporting surface on which the pallet rests so that the tines of a forklift may be inserted beneath the deck. Actually, the spaces between the several runners provide entry slots that receive the tines of the forklift. Since the entry slots open out of only two sides of the pallet, the forklift must approach the pallet from either one of those sides, and hence the pallet is referred to as having two-way entry. Pallets with four-way entry are also available, and in those pallets the runners are merely cut away slightly to provide enough space in them to accommodate the tines of the forklift.
Irrespective of the number of entries, conventional wood pallets are expensive in their own right and further present substantial transportation and control problems. In particular, it is commonplace to ship goods to the purchaser of such goods on pallets, and as a consequence the pallet leaves the possession of the owner. Transportation companies will return the pallets, but the cost is quite high. Furthermore, some pallets are damaged, while others are lost altogether through neglect or pilferage. In some industries the typical wooden pallet is used on an average of no more than twice before it must be replaced. When the large initial expense of the pallet is amortized over only two trips, the pallet expense adds significantly to the cost of the product which is shipped, particularly when the product is relatively inexpensive as holds true with many bagged products. Furthermore, keeping tract of the pallets is an annoying administrative burden.
Aside from the foregoing, a shortage of wood pallets currently exists and it appears that this shortage will continue. This, of course, enhances the incentive to pilfer the pallets or perhaps substitute damaged pallets for return to the original owner. Heretofore attempts have been made to use less expensive materials for pallets, one such material being honeycomb cells made from paper products. While pallets formed from these materials cost considerably less than the typical wood pallets, they have been only suitable for relatively light loads and have not provided the versatility of the conventional wood pallet, particularly as to the number of entries, since providing enough voids in the honeycomb material to accommodate four-way entry has resulted in a significant loss of strength.